Posted on 10/18/2001 9:08:51 PM PDT by Pokey78
Edited on 04/23/2004 12:03:48 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Funny. I've been in various countries in the Mid-East about 30 times and I've never seen anyone wearing a turban.
Sikhs wear turbans, however. Sikhs are from India. India is not in the Mid-East. (Take a look at a map). Sikhs are not Moslems.
Nonetheless, if I were an Arab Muslim terrorist, I might dress as a Sikh to implicate them.
Gaddafi is a drag queen. (Now THAT might be a good disguise for a terrorist. I'd recommend a nose-ring as well.)
Yep. Even one of the small disposable ones is better than nothing.
You know, when driving on the freeway, I find myself checking out the faces of the drivers of eighteen-wheelers. I think the next attack may come from a truck.
I have a small disposable camera and a little spiral-bound notebook in my purse or backpack now wherever we go. About a week after 9-11 my kids and I went to the local Wal-Mart. As we were walking from our vehicle through the parking lot, I saw two young Middle Eastern guys, twenty-somethings, walking out of WM toward us. They had no bags from the store. They had nothing in their hands at all. But in the 10-15 feet width of space between parked cars, they were walking like they were joined at the hip, with their arms pressed together and their heads down, kind of a "let's hurry up and get out of here before someone sees us" kind of exit.
I turned around and watched them walk past, narrowed my eyes, thought about it for a few seconds, then walked into the store. I WISH TO GOODNESS I had followed them to their vehicle, taken a picture of them, copied down a license plate number, and phoned it in. I didn't have anything to write on or a camera with me, so just went about my business. (What better place to unleash a bio-threat than inconspicuously sprinkled on the shelves of a local store patroned by thousands of people daily?) There are no community colleges or universities nearby which would draw foreigners to this little town--but that parking lot at Wal-Mart was barely two miles from the main gates of a large army post (where we live). There are a LOT of army personnel and families who shop there, and it's not uncommon to see dozens of uniformed soldiers picking up a can of shaving cream or a basket full of sodas and treats.
Needless to say, I'm watching my surroundings like a hawk these days, and I'm rapidly losing my PC "don't want to harass anyone who might be innocent" inclinations, too. Be ever viligent!
(During the attack on Pearl Harbor some supply NCO's refused to open ammunition lockers since 'regulations' required approval of an officer. Most were 'persuaded' to hand out ammo so that we could at least attempt to shoot down the Jap Zeroes. The 'let's not profile' crowd are like those stupid NCO's; they don't understand that the world changed on 9/11 and that our survival is more important than 'rules'.)
The Freepers that suggested carrying a camera make a lot of sense, especially when you are visiting tourist sites in large cities or potential targets like water supplies, etc.
Yeah, yeah. Semantics. What exactly is the official name of the cloth wound around the head of EVERY SINGLE MALE seen in photos of the al-Qaeda gang, Arabs, etc? Please enlighten us so we can use the correct term when talking about "rag-heads." Thank you ever so much.
This reminded me of something a friend told me 2 weeks ago, which I had totally forgotten about. He was at a local gas station filling up and noticed a very dirty, mud covered pickup truck doing the same thing. Now in the rural area I live in, muddy pickups are not unusual.
What was unusual about this was the appearance of the driver and passenger. 30something Mid Eastern looking men in IMMACULATE clothing all the way to starched white shirts. He got that same cold stare that Ms. Noonan describes - around here that is not a common occurence.
He called the local FBI office the next morning and they were very interested in what he had to tell them.
It's not paranoia, we ARE living in a different world these days.
That said, I think its also helpful to engage good, patriotic Arabs, Sikhs and others whose main desire is to help see that these terrorists are jailed, hung, shot, whatever- just beaten soundly. And, they too are out there.
But I'm afraid she's basically right.
Dan
One of the hijackers from FL lived in a suburban neighborhood with his wife and children. He sent them back to Saudi Arabia two days before he murdered thousands in the WTC. They cannot be trusted!
Visas Being Issued At US Consulate In Saudi Arabia
A U.S. visa-processing office in Saudi Arabia that issued visas to six of the suspected 19 Sept. 11 hijackers said it is "conducting business as usual," and continues to waive interviews for the "vast majority" of applicants, according to a memo the office wrote to State Department officials.
The cable said that visas were approved for all 104 people who applied for them at the Jeddah consular office between Sept. 11 and the beginning of October, when the cable was sent. Only two of the applicants were interviewed.
So have I. I've been really scrutinizing trucks as I'm on the expressway these past couple of weeks.
This morning as I got off at the usual exit to take my through-the-country route, a truck was waiting to enter the expressway. As I turned, it truck pulled through the intersection to begin its entry.
I noticed in the rear-view window that the the body of the truck had the all lettering painted over rather crudely. Thinking about the missing hazmat trailer in NJ, I turned around and got back on the expressway, hoping to catch up with it and get a license number.
I knew it wouldn't be that truck, but could have been another. I was back on the highway within 2 minutes of when I first saw it, and though I exceeded the speed limit (5 over, I didn't want a ticket!) hoping to catch up to it, did not find it for the half hour I stayed on the road. I'm guessing it must have exited soon after it entered the highway.
The suggestion of carrying a little camera notebook suggested by several is outstanding.
``I have completed my education and now I'm going to Afghanistan,'' said Abdul Manan, 25, his head draped in the new white turban bestowed on graduates. ``We are ready to sacrifice our lives for a noble cause.''
From this thread:
It's better to withstand a few hours of feeling foolish than to spend the rest of your life regretting not reporting something that turned out to be true.
-PJ
As ever, Peggy Noonan is right on! In my townhouse development, a "single man" purchased a unit two years ago. He kept to himself and there was a lot of traffic (cars with young middle eastern males) that came and went during that time. He disappeared around 9/11. His car sat in the driveway with a flat tire. All the shades in the house are pulled down, except for one window where a cat sometimes appears. It wasn't until 2 weeks later that I learned his name was middle eastern.
Initially, I felt silly bringing this information to the state police and the FBI. What if ... he had gone away on vacation or business? Last week, the car was gone from the driveway. Last night, yet another car was parked there. Sometimes, we must follow instinct or gut feeling.
One of the other board members remembered the other day that when the middle eastern man moved in, he was most anxious to know if homeowners could install direct tv. The small satellite dish appeared on his roof within one week. He never spoke to anyone else ever again. Coincidence?
The Arabs terrorists living in Afghanistan have adopted the head dress of their Pashtu hosts. It is not called a turban. I don't know the exact name.
The Afghan Taliban spokesmen wear them. I just saw two of them on FOX being interviewed by the press. One was speaking, and one was interpreting into English.
Yes, some Afghanis wear some kind of a cloth wrapped about their head.
So I suppose that is an exception if you consider Afghanistan as part of the Middle East.
But I suspect a lot of Freepers who have never been outside the good old USA would be amazed
to learn that outside Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states most Middle Eastern men wear nothing on their head.
(Except you do see a lot of teen-agers with baseball caps on backwards, trying to imitate the American kids they see in the movies.)
When Frank Sinatra was still with us, it is said that he had devised a strategy so that he could live a semi-normal life in public.
Sinatra, of course, was almost universally recognized, and frequently interrupted by strangers; strangers who were not necessarily of sound mind.
What was Mr. Sinatra's credo for survival?
Be Awake, Be Alert, Be Aware.
Now, for our survival, we must all make a concerted effort to live this way!
Race, I recall you posting about an incident where someone made a strange comment to you. Is your search related?
Please all:
Be Awake, Be Alert, Be Aware!
I think I read shortly thereafter that the five had been released. However, I think I have read in the Washington Post within the past few days that the French police have recently arrested another Islamist on suspicion of having planned to attack a French cathedral.
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